The George Mason Patriots softball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the very first time.
On Saturday, the Patriots won the Atlantic-10 Softball Tournament. George Mason, the four-seed in the tournament, defeated 2-seeded Loyola-Chicago to clinch the tournament title. As a result, they punched their ticket into the NCAA Softball Tournament and will hear their name called on Selection Sunday for the first time in program history.
“For the first time in program history, we are DANCING!” the George Mason softball team boasted Saturday evening.
𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑰𝑵𝑮!
Your George Mason Patriots are the 2023 Atlantic 10 Champions!#BeDauntless🥎🔰 pic.twitter.com/OsNDrbBk3a
— Mason Softball (@MasonSoftball) May 13, 2023
The victory was captured on Twitter and came after a lengthy, 10-inning affair. 10-inning games are incredibly rare in softball, so this was a sight to behold in every way.
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!#BeDauntless🥎🔰 pic.twitter.com/2gf1AEnRkB
— Mason Softball (@MasonSoftball) May 13, 2023
The historic win follows up a massive season for the Patriots. They went 33-21 on the season en route to their conference tournament title. While the team struggled at times, particularly on the road, that no longer matters.
George Mason is no stranger to being a surprise in NCAA Tournaments. The George Mason men’s basketball team stunned the world in 2006 when they went to the Final Four. While expecting a Herculean run from the softball team is probably too much, they can celebrate tonight after the historic achievement.
Selection Sunday comes this weekend after all the festivities conclude. The Women’s College World Series in OKC begins on June 1, so getting there will be a fight. Now, we know one more team in the mix. And George Mason will be making a maiden voyage to the NCAA Softball Team.
